My Favourite Artists and Records

As announced in my previous blog, today, I will introduce some of my favourite artists’ albums to give you an idea of what music I like and what you can expect on my blog. This list does not have a specific order. Also, my recommendations for songs are just some recommendations. There are far too many great songs by all of these artists, so I always list one or two tracks from the album and another one from a newer release by the artist. Enjoy.

Enter Shikari – A Flash Flood of Colour

My first Post-Hardcore-record and my introduction to the world of hardcore and its sub-genres. I may be biased, but it is still my favourite Shikari-record, because I think it really captures what this band is about. They completely defy genre-boundaries on this record and the style of their music represents the meaning behind their music – it should not matter where you come from, neither your genre in music nor your nationality in real life. They draw inspiration from d’n’b, jungle and dubstep and merge them with hardcore and progressive rock among others to create a record with hardly any established song structures.

On this record, Enter Shikari discuss topics such as nationalism, consumerism and climate change while disrespecting genre-boundaries of all sorts. A Flash Flood of Colour is a great record for people who like experimental music with strong political messages.  

Tracks you should check out: System … Meltdown, Sssnakepit and Rabble Rouser

Letlive. – Fake History

I found out about this band because of Enter Shikari and Fake History was my first record by letlive. (written with a full-stop). It was their second full-length release and the band really found their personal style on it. Fake History is an amalgamation of post-hardcore, punk, funk, jazz and all kinds of other genres. If you want to cut it short, you could say Michael Jackson meets Glassjaw, Refused and At The Drive – In.

The topics addressed on this record range from politics, such as religion and American history to emotions, loosing friends and other downs.  There is something for everyone on this album and you should definitely check it out if you’re into any of the bands mentioned above.

Unfortunately, the band broke up in 2017 but their singer is now the vocalist of Fever 333 and Pressure Cracks. Fever 333 are a poppier version of letlive. with hip-hop elements and Pressure Cracks are a full-on hardcore band. Both bands are linked below.

Fever 333: http://www.fever333.com/vinyl/?ref=https://www.google.com/

Pressure Cracks: https://www.pressurecracks.com/

Tracks you should check out: Le Prologue + The Sick, Sick 6.8 Billion, Casino Columbus, Another Offensive Song and Copper Colored Quiet

Astroid Boys – Broke

Broke was the debut album of Astroid Boys and the final release before their break-up. On it, they did everything they had done on their earlier releases but even better.

Astroid Boys were a band from Cardiff in Wales who merged Grime, d’n’b and electronic music in general with elements of punk and hardcore. Their music is perfect to chill and hang out to. Although their music is mostly not concerned with hardcore and focused on Grime, it has some great alternative vibes and some songs are perfect to mosh to. On Broke, Astroid Boys combined the best of both worlds and created a record that is chill but, in some songs, quite heavy as well.

This record is perfect for relaxed mornings and parties and I will keep listening to it in the future. If you like nu-metal, rap-core or hip-hop but want to see something that sets itself apart from the main-stream, definitely check them out.

Both of the front men have their own projects now. You should keep an eye on them.

XL LIFE: https://www.instagram.com/xllifeworldwide/

SUMOZ: https://www.instagram.com/sumozofficial/

Tracks you should check out: Money, Scrambled Eggs and Minging

Denzel Curry – Imperial

The first hip-hop-record that I bought. Denzel Curry is a young rapper from Florida who makes some great music. You probably know his song Ultimate, which was part of a meme in 2015/16. Despite being a meme, it is a great song. This year, he already released two strong EPs, which I just have to recommend at this point.

The beats on Imperial are really atmospheric and great to relax to. Denzel’s flow varies from chill to aggressive. On some songs, he just flexes on others in a mocking voice, on others he goes in and spits his bars aggressively, to an extent that he almost starts shouting. Because of this energy, this record was the perfect introduction for me into trap and more modern hip-hop. Additionally, it is relaxed in a similar way as Yung Lean’s releases from around the same time but I can dig it unironically, which does not go for Yung Lean. If you are into hip-hop and do not listen to Denzel Curry, you’re honestly missing out.

Tracks you should check out: This Life, Ultimate and Vengeance

Your Demise – The Kids We Used To Be

My first “real” hardcore-band. Your Demise drew inspiration from all sorts of genres and combined them into a gnarly hardcore-record.

The lead singer’s vocals are harsh and dirty and work well with the riffs that draw inspiration from hardcore, punk and metal. On this record, the band already tapped into softer genres but overall the record was still heavy. The band got lots of hate for softening their sound on their follow-up The Golden Age but the softer elements were already present on this record, so who cares that they started to incorporate more pop-punk?

 I’m looking forward to finally seeing them perform as a celebration of this LP’s ten years anniversary and I will definitely throw down to their music.

Tracks you should check out: Scared of the Light, Forget About Me and Karma

Glassjaw – Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence

One of the OG Post-Hardcore-bands and albums. To me, it feels like half of modern Hardcore bands are inspired by this band and this record in particular.  Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence was released in 2000, when Nu-metal was at its peak. On this album, Glassjaw capture the atmosphere of nu-metal and combine New York hardcore with softer genres and clean vocals.

One aspect that should be mentioned here, are the lyrics. The singer wrote most of the lyrics after a bad break-up and made really clear that he hates his former girlfriend by calling her a whore and using really drastic imagery on several songs of the album. Later, he realised that this was not ok and distanced himself from what he said on this record. Also, the band does not play the songs concerned by this live. But still, I I find it intriguing how the singer captures emotions on this record even if you cannot understand and condone some of them.

Glassjaw are often compared to Deftones and I would agree that both are really similar. Both are legends, which you should check out if you haven’t done so already. Vein are one of many bands who were influenced by this record. I recommend EYEWTK to everyone who likes 2000s post-hardcore and to everyone who wants to see which bands inspired some of the most-hyped modern bands like Vein.

Tracks you should check out: Siberian Kiss, Radio Cambodia and My Conscience Weighs A Ton

Vein – Errorzone

What happens if nu-metal bands like Deftones, Slipknot and Korn had an orgy with post-hardcore and mathcore bands like Glassjaw, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Converge?

 If you want to know, just listen to Errorzone, which was hands down my favourite record of 2018. On this record, Vein combine elements of all the bands mentioned above into so some seriously heavy and angry mathcore.

When I first listened to this record by chance, I cheered several times and listened through it in one session with a constant grin.

Vein combine the atmosphere of nu-metal with the aggression and violence of mathcore and their record just blew me away. Both, the lyrics and their delivery as well as the instrumentals are just brutal and touch on negative emotions that are often suppressed in every day life. Even the cover of their record conveys this idea. It shows an eye without eyelids and illustrates how their music aims to convey these suppressed emotions without any mercy. If you like heavy music and don’t know this record, I urge you to listen to it.

Last week, some of the band’s members launched the first EP with a new project. The link below will lead you to the first EP by Fleshwater, which ranges from alt-metal to shoegaze and grunge. Check it out, it’s fun.

https://fleshwater.bandcamp.com/releases

Tracks you should check out: Virus:// Vibrance, Old Data In A Dead Machine, Errorzone and Terror’s Realm

Papa Roach – Infest

In my last blog, I mentioned that I love nu-metal. The band that really made me love that genre were Papa Roach, their record Infest from 2000 in particular.

Initially, it made me really nostalgic when I rediscovered their song Blood Brothers, which was featured in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2. Apart from that, I just loved the mixture of metal and rap because I also loved Linkin Park but Papa Roach appealed to me on a deeper level than them.

As an angsty teen, their songs just resonated with me. Infest is a nostalgic record for me and if it were not for this nostalgia, it probably would not make it onto this list, but it had a massive impact on me when I listened to it as a 14 or 15 year-old, so I just had to include it.

Tracks you should check out: Snakes, Between Angels and Insects

Show Me The Body – Dog Whistle

It is quite difficult to describe Show Me The Body fittingly. I would say they’re a crossover band with roots in the punk and hardcore scene. They merge punk and hardcore with noise and hip-hop.

Their first LP was a mixtape on which they featured artists from various genres, among others, Denzel Curry. That record gives you a great idea of their sound and I definitely recommend it because they are one of the more diverse artists on this list.

However, Dog Whistle is the one that made it onto this list. It was released in 2019. The lead singer’s voice is really raw and gives his vocals a punk sound, which he combines with a flow quite similar to Death Grips. The beats on this record are typical of hardcore, but the style in which they are delivered is more punk than hardcore. There are a lot of beats on this record to which you could two-step but there are also atmospheric parts that are really relaxing.

Dog Whistle is an atmospheric record with nice alternative vibes. The topics addressed on this record are highly political, which fits the punk background of the band and they tackle issues that are not discussed by many bands, for instance the death camp in Auschwitz. If you always wished for a hardcore punk version of Death Grips with lyrics that aren’t as cryptic (not to say random) as theirs, you should definitely check out Dog Whistle.

Tracks you should check out: Camp Orchestra, Talk and In A Grave

Trophy Eyes – Mend, Move On

When I first got into Pop-punk, I was really down and unhappy with my life. One of the bands that helped me to get a grip on life around that time were Trophy Eyes.

Mend, Move On was released in 2014 and it was a great transition for me from hardcore to pop-punk. On this record, Trophy Eyes play soft melodic hardcore with elements of pop-punk and emo.

It is not often that the opening track of a record makes me tear up but Trophy Eyes managed to do so on this record with their track My Name On Paper, which is dedicated to the singer’s grandma suffering from Dementia. It closes with the words: “Mom made it to a show last night, she said you would be so proud”. That line just hit really close to home and it is one of many lines from that record that hit the emotions.

Mend, Move On by Trophy Eyes is a great record for transitioning from hardcore to pop-punk, since it has the energy of hardcore and blends it in with elements of pop-punk to convey some seriously emo lyrics in a way that can help you to get over hard times.

Tracks you should check out: Ugly Pattern, Heaven Sent and Chlorine

The same goes for Belmont’s first EP Vicissitude, which was released in 2015. Belmont are an easycore and pop-punk band with obvious inspiration from hardcore bands and I can recommend them as another band to transition into pop-punk if you are generally into heavier music.

https://belmont-il.bandcamp.com/album/vicissitude

Tracks you should check out: Masquerade, Convalescence and Write Me Off

That’s it for the list. But as a bonus, I’d like to make another recommendation. As of late, I really enjoyed 27 Miles Underwater by Higher Power because it’s giving me major nu-metal and early 2000s post-hardcore vibes. It is really Deftones and Glassjaw but still Higher Power and I love that. They changed their sound completely but you can still tell that you’re listening to Higher Power.

Tracks you should check out: Lost in Static, Rewire (101) and Burning

What are your favourite bands and artists? And how do you like the bands from this list? Feel free to comment and thanks for reading. Until next time.

-sovlpvnk

Next time on sovlpvnk: How Cookies Kill Apes and how to avoid it

https://sovlpvnk.com/2020/03/09/how-cookies-kill-apes-and-how-to-avoid-it/